Hamburger Kammersolisten, Quatuor Parrenin, Hamann Quartett, Quartetto di Nuova Musica, New York String Quartet & Internationales Kranichsteiner Kammerensemble, Bruno Maderna & Francis Travis
The 18 LPs of Earle Brown's legendary Contemporary Sound Series, now re-released by WERGO on CD (six 3-CD sets), have become a rarity in great demand. 'Earle Brown – A Life in Music – Vol. 4' is the most recent CD set in this unique series presented by WERGO.
CD 1 contains three stylistically quite different string quartets by Pierre Boulez, Giacinto Scelsi and Earle Brown himself, performed by the ensembles Quatuor Parrenin, Hamann Quartet, Quartetto di Nuova Musica, and the New York String Quartet.
CD 2 focuses on works for chamber orchestra by Iannis Xenakis, Aldo Clementi, Bo Nilsson, Wlodzimierz Kotonski, and Yuji Takahashi; apart from them, the first recording of Arnold Schoenberg's 'Drei Stücke' is outstanding as well. The works were performed by the International Kranichsteiner Kammerensemble under the direction of Bruno Maderna, the Hamburger Kammersolisten under the direction of Francis Travis, as well as the exceptional violinist Paul Zukofsky.
CD 3 presents four works premiered by the Hamburger Kammersolisten: 'Études contrapuntiques' by Milko Kelemen, 'Tropi' by Niccolò Castiglioni, 'Serenata' by Vittorio Fellegara and 'Musik für sieben Instrumente' by Isang Yun.
“Brown's own "String Quartet" [is] a characteristic collusion of raindrop pizzicato, smeary dissonance and bleak chromaticism...Xenakis' 'Achorripsis' is far less alarming than it first sounds, like wandering through a forest as dawn breaks to light one's way.” The Independent, 28th December 2011 ***
“The sets provide an invaluable record of how the challenging music of the time was presented when it was new, with the musicians approaching it with more concern for edginess and rather less freedom than players might choose now. It’s a time machine experience, offering transport back to a time when rebarbativeness was more fashionable than it is now.” The Irish Times, 2nd March 2012 ****
